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This PlayStation Employee Had A Special Controller Made For A Disabled Fan

Going the extra mile put a smile on this gamer's face.

Brittany Vincent

April 5, 2016 8:15 AM

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Sometimes companies go above and beyond for their fans. For Peter Byrne, a New Jersey man, PlayStation went the extra mile to ensure he'd be able to play video games in a way that's comfortable and accommodating for him. It's a pretty heartwarming story in the midst of so much negativity out there in the industry. Originally having shared the story on Facebook, it's gone viral by now and for good reason.

Peter Byrne has been gaming with PlayStation since he was just 8, but the newest PlayStation controller design has interfered with his gameplay experience significantly. In an interview with BuzzFeed, Byrne explained he had sent an email off about the controller being sensitive to his left hand, with the touch pad in the way no matter how he tried to avoid it. When you hit the touch pad, your game is paused or usually affected in some annoying way (we've all been there) so it's understandable how a disability could affect any gaming when you keep touching the area on the controller.

A PlayStation marketing representative named Alex Nawabi got in touch with Byrne, who was interested in solving this matter personally, even going so far as to order new controller parts and offering a customized solution. In the end Nawabi apologized that he wouldn't be able to make it work, and consoled Byrne by offering to send a special PlayStation goodie bag of sorts. When it got to Peter, he was shocked to find a special modified controller within that had the touch pad disabled and replaced with a small button on the back meant to pause the game. Included was a personal note from Nawabi where he stated he would plan on creating a second controller for Byrne should he need it pending feedback on the original.

Byrne states that the controller works great for him and he's had no further problems. The story's gotten considerable attention by mainstream media outlets by now, but it remains a touching one to me still. I'm glad to see people showing how much they care, even if it's to just one person.

Brittany Vincent

Senior Editor

Fueled by horror, rainbow-sugar-pixel-rushes, and video games, Brittany is a Senior Editor at Shacknews who thrives on surrealism and ultraviolence. Follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake and check out her portfolio for more. Like a fabulous shooter once said, get psyched!